Milestone
by GeniaTheParadox
Summary: Tiny little parent!lock drabble. John misses an important milestone in baby Hamish's life.


Fluffy little parent!lock drabbles are surprisingly fun to write. I'm pretty sure I've made up their whole lives in my head. So until I can think of a proper fic to write with more than one chapter and everything, random little ficlets like this will have to do.

Anyway, chuck some reviews in my general direction.

And obviously I own nothing.

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**Milestone**

John was already exhausted and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. Another sensationalised illness outbreak in the tabloids meant that he'd spent most of the morning dealing with hypochondriacs who were convinced they were on death's door when they were in perfect health. What John wanted now more than anything was to go home and put his feet up.

"Dr. Holmes-Watson," said the receptionist through the intercom. "The waiting room has finally cleared. You can go for a break now if you want."

"Thanks, Judith."

John yawned as he made his way to the hospital canteen for a much needed cup of tea. His sleeping patterns were pretty irregular at the best of times – when assisting Sherlock with a case there was no telling how long it would last – but with baby Hamish now adding to his sleep deprivation, John felt more tired than ever.

John didn't want to complain about it though. He had always wanted to be a father, and he was more than a little surprised when Sherlock confessed that he really wanted a child too. They started going through all their options soon after they were married, and both agreed that surrogacy was the best way for them. There were complications, of course; finding an egg donor and a surrogate, the cost of all the fertility treatments. The disappointment John felt when he was told that he couldn't be the child's biological father was completely eclipsed by the birth of Hamish Holmes-Watson.

Hamish was a precious little thing who was sure to grow up to be a carbon-copy of Sherlock. He already had Sherlock's eyes and Sherlock's dark curls. John wished his paternity leave could have been longer so he could spend more time with Hamish, but being able to pay the bills was more important than ever now that they were a family. It was coming up for Hamish's first birthday, he was growing up so fast, and every time John left in the morning for the surgery he always felt as if he was going to miss an important milestone. Unfortunately, today John was right.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket as he sat down at an empty table with steaming cup of tea and a sandwich. Texts from Sherlock during work hours were normal – usually updates on cases or just boredom – although they usually didn't happen when John was actually on a break. Sherlock seemed to be becoming a bit more considerate.

_You'll never guess what just happened – SHW_

John replied as he sipped his tea, immediately assuming the worst.

_You haven't blown anything up, have you? – JHW _

_Of course not, it's good news. I'm sending you a video – SHW_

It took a moment for the video to download onto John's phone. It was barely a minute long and prefixed with the words _I wish you could have been here._ John pressed play and immediately he felt his stomach swoop with emotion.

Baby Hamish was sitting on the floor for their living room, surrounded by his toys and wearing the bumblebee baby-grow that Mrs. Hudson had bought for him. His wispy black hair was all over the place as usual, and his big blue-green eyes were looking inquisitively at the camera. From behind the camera came Sherlock's voice.

"_Come on, Hamish. Stand up for me. Stand up just like last time so Daddy can see."_

Hamish stared for a second, before he put both his pudgy little hands on the edge of the sofa and pulled himself unsteadily up onto his feet. John grinned at his phone, feeling a lump in his throat.

Sherlock spoke from behind the camera again, reaching out one pale, slender hand.

"_Come to me, Hamish. Come on, son. Come to me."_

Hamish watched his father's beckoning hand, reaching out his own. He took a second to steady himself before letting go of the sofa and taking a few steps towards Sherlock's outstretched hand with an adorable smile.

"_Good boy! That's so good! You're such a clever boy, Hamish!" _

Hamish giggled into the camera before the video finally ended. John felt like he was about to cry. He probably would have done if he wasn't so aware that he was sitting in the middle of the hospital canteen. His feelings were a mixture of pride and regret. He was so happy that his little Hamish had finally learnt to walk on his own, but he hated that he hadn't been able to see it in person. A video, however thoughtful it was of Sherlock to make it, just wasn't the same as actually seeing his son's first steps himself. John watched the video a few more times as he finished his tea and sandwich, and thought about it constantly for the rest of the day.

John got back to Baker Street in time for Hamish's bath. Once the baby was tucked up in his cot in what used to be Sherlock's bedroom, John slumped down on the sofa, glad to rest his aching joints at last.

"You're upset," Sherlock observed quietly from his armchair.

"I'm fine," John said lamely, knowing his husband wouldn't believe a word of it.

"You wish you could have been here," Sherlock continued as if there had been no interruption. "You feel like a bad father because you missed Hamish's first steps. But you shouldn't beat yourself up about it, John. There was nothing you could have done. It's not like Hamish purposely waited until you'd left the flat to walk for the first time."

"No, no, of course not," said John, rubbing his tired eyes. "I know. It's stupid to be so disappointed, but... I wish I could have been here."

Sherlock went to sit next to his husband, kissing him on the cheek and letting John rest his weary head on his shoulder.

"I'll film everything Hamish does whenever you're not home, just in case," Sherlock said with a smile.

John chuckled sleepily against Sherlock's shoulder. "That's actually really sweet, love."

"No need to sound quite so surprised. It has been known to happen."

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Short and sweet.

But yeah. Hope you enjoyed, Humble Readers.

xxx


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